Timour Baslan: Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award

Source: https://almanac.upenn.edu/articles/timour-baslan-damon-runyon-rachleff-innovation-award Parent: https://almanac.upenn.edu/latest-issue

Timour Baslan

Timour Baslan, an assistant professor of biomedical sciences in Penn Vet, has received support from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation for pioneering innovative approaches to discovering novel cancer therapies.

Dr. Baslan investigates the genetic and biological underpinnings of cancer, with a focus on a class of mutations known as copy number alterations. By integrating advanced sequencing technologies, computational analytics, and experimental cancer models, Dr. Baslan seeks to develop new strategies for early detection and therapeutic targeting. In his previous work, Dr. Baslan identified patterns by which the most aggressive cancers develop. His current work seeks to further expand the scientific understanding of how cancer genomes evolve in breast and pancreatic cancers, as well as in acute leukemias and sarcomas.

In 2024, the Forbeck Foundation named Dr. Baslan a Forbeck Scholar, making him part of a cohort of exceptionally accomplished, early-career cancer researchers. He also received the 2023 Tri-Institutional Breakout Prize for Junior Investigators, awarded by faculty from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Rockefeller University, and Weill Cornell Medicine, and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) NEXTGEN Star award.

The Damon Runyon–Rachleff Innovation Award supports early-career scientists who are pursuing high-risk, high-reward ideas with the potential to transform the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of cancer. The award is intended for projects in the early stages of investigation with the potential for significant impact in the cancer field.